Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.banks,americast.usa-today.banks From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: banks Wed, Nov 4 1992 Date: Wed, 4 Nov 92 05:08:35 EST Message-ID: 11-04 0000 DECISIONLINE: Banking & Economy USA TODAY Update Nov. 4, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network STOCKS QUIETLY RALLY: On the way to the election, stocks staged a quiet but broad rally that is bound to attract attention now that the economy is over. Since Oct. 9, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 3.7%; Standard & Poor's 500, 4.3%; the NASDAQ composite, 6%. Investors may recall December-January rallies each of the last two years. Industry experts suggest that's what is happening, just early. GET MOVING ON ECONOMY NOW: Economists have some advice for the next president. Top suggestion: Don't wait for Inauguration Day. The economy needs a healthy dose of confidence right now, and there's no better medicine than a clear signal that the president-elect will stick with the programs he sold to voters. That means calling now for talks this month with Congressional leaders about legislation. PRES. SHOULD RESTORE CONFIDENCE: Economists advise the next president to reassure the business community and give executives the confidence they need to start creating jobs rather than eliminating them, give great care to key appointments. For Treasury secretary, appoint Paul Volcker, former Federal Reserve chairman, suggests Evelina Tainer, chief economist at Prime Economic Consulting. ECONOMY CONTINUES TO WEAKEN: The government's chief economic forecasting gauge showed a weaker economy for the second straight month in September, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, signaling that the economy will remain weak well into next year. The index of leading economic indicators, used to forecast economic activity three to sixth months ahead, fell 0.3% in both September and August. RECESSION NOT EXPECTED: Economic indicators released Tuesday indicate that the economy is still weak. But economists say the economy isn't so weak that it'll slip back into recession. Contributing to the decline in September: lower commodity prices, more unemployment claims; gloomier consumers and fewer business orders for plants and equipment. TRAVELERS TO MAKE MASSIVE CUTS: The Travelers Corp. said Tuesday it lost $358 million the third quarter and that it will eliminate 1,500 jobs on top of 3,500 job cuts it announced in September. Travelers' loss came to $3.54 a share vs. income of $65 million or 60 cents a share a year earlier. The insurer blamed much of the loss on Hurricane Andrew, which reduced net income by $240 million. TREASURY TO BORROW $37M: The Treasury Department plans to borrow $37 billion from the public next week in a series of debt auctions to replenish government coffers, it was announced Tuesday. The borrowing includes $23.1 billion of privately held notes maturing on Nov. 15, Undersecretary Jerome H. Powell told a news conference. The national debt limit will have to be raised by late March, he said. EX-BROKER AGREES TO TESTIFY: A former broker accused of being involved in a stock manipulation and securities fraud scheme has agreed to cooperate with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Richard Puccio once was employed by Stratton Oakmont Inc., the firm the SEC is investigating. Puccio settled the SEC complaint against him without admitting or denying guilt. FIRM CALLED `BOILER ROOM': The Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday that former broker Charles Puccio would testify in its case against Stratton Oakmont Inc. Stratton and some of its executives and employees were the target of an SEC complaint that claimed the firm was a boiler room operation that violated securities fraud laws by misrepresentation, illegal sales and manipulation of common stock. MCSHARRY SAYS AGREEMENT NEAR: A second day of negotiations on the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade recessed late Tuesday morning and resumed Tuesday afternoon. The break in talks over a possible trade agreement between the USA and Europe was recessed for Agriculture Secretary Edward Madigan to vote. His European counterpart, Ray McSharry, said he was confident an agreement was imminent. GROUP BLASTS FDIC AUDIT RULE: The Independent Bankers Association Tuesday said the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s proposed audit rule for banks with more than $150 million assets was burdensome and costly. The association urged the FDIC to redraft the rule that it said had gone beyond "the requirements of the statute." An earlier act required the FDIC to adopt an audit rule, but allowed asset-size flexibility. LONG-TERM YIELDS STEADY: The yield on 30-year Treasury bonds remained unchanged at 7.66% Tuesday. The discount rate on three-month Treasury bills auctioned Monday fell to 3.02% from 3.05%. Light sweet crude oil dipped 7 cents to $20.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. GOLD LOWER, SILVER MIXED: Gold prices closed lower Tuesday. On the New York Commodity Exchange, gold bullion for current delivery settled at $337.50 a troy ounce, down $2.40 from Monday. Republic National Bank said gold fell $1.05 an ounce to $337.75. Silver prices were mixed. On New York's Comex, silver bullion settled at $3.772 a troy ounce, down from $3.781 on Monday. In London: $3.79 from $3.77. DOW JONES OPENS ON DOWNSWING: The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials opens at 3252.48 Wednesday after closing down 9.73 Tuesday. The New York Stock Exchange composite opens at 231.24, down 1.24. The American Stock Exchange market value opens at 382.83, up 0.13. The NASDAQ OTC composite opens at 604.58, down 2.99. DOLLAR OPENS DOWN OVERSEAS: The dollar opens down on Wednesday. It opens at 0.6454 British pounds, down from 0.6538; 5.3010 French francs, down from 5.3170; 1.5645 German marks, down from 1.5698; and 122.15 Japanese yen, down from 123.64. (As of 3 p.m. Tuesday. Source: First American Bank of New York.) 24-HOUR TELEPHONE INFORMATION: USA TODAY Money Hot Line. 95 cents a minute. 1-900-555-5555. Banking & Economy Editor: Beth Mann. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution purposes violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM